Toad in the hole is such a winner, but you don’t have to stick to the basic recipe all the time. Here, we’ve added red onions to the mix because they bring a lovely sweetness to the dish and are delicious with the sausages. Try and track down the best bangers you can find and try serving it with a round of fried eggs like we have. You just can’t go wrong!
Preparation time 10 minutes | Cook time 45 minutes | Serves 2-3
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-5 organic or free-range pork sausages
2 medium red onions, each cut into 6-8 wedges
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A few sprigs of thyme
For the batter
140g organic plain flour
4 Stonegate Estate Organic eggs (lightly beaten)
200ml organic whole milk
The leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the eggs
2-3 Stonegate Estate Organic eggs
1 small handful of sage leaves
20g butter
Salt and Pepper
Preheat the oven to 230ºC / 210ºC fan.
Put the oil into a medium heavy roasting tin or cast-iron pan. Add the sausages and onion wedges season and place in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
Tip the flour into a bowl and whisk in the eggs until everything is nice and smooth. Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously, until you are certain there are no lumps. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Take the sausages and onions out of the oven, give the dish a good shake, then quickly arrange things so they’re nice and evenly distributed. Pour in the batter, scatter over the thyme, then place the dish straight back in the oven.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the batter is puffed up and looking delicious and golden.
Meanwhile set a medium pan over a medium high heat. Add the olive oil and when it’s hot crack in the eggs. Let the eggs cook for 25-30 seconds or until the whites are just beginning to set. At this point drop the butter around the eggs in little nuggets. Drop in the sage leaves and season the eggs lightly. Now you can either flip the eggs and cook them for a few seconds to seal the yolks or alternatively, use a spoon to baste the eggs with the hot sage butter as they finish cooking.
Bring the toad in the hole to the table, serve everyone a portion and top with a sage fried egg. You could serve all kinds of veg on the side but we find a crunchy, sharply dressed coleslaw goes particularly well.
